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This blog documents the racing, training, & riding experiences of the participants of PWP

Pedaling with a Purpose

My name is Kristen Meshberg and I am a former category 1 bike racer. I competed nationally in both road and track. I am a USA Cycling Coach, and help individuals develop plans to achieve their goals. To survive the Chicago winter, I developed an indoor workout program called "Pedaling with a Purpose."

I now have various locations across the United States. To find out more about Pedaling with a Purpose or Coaching, email Kristen at: kmesh.pwp@gmail.com

Sunday, September 25, 2011

Para Track Nationals

This summer I was approached at Northbrook by Coach Steve Thordarson and asked if I would like to pilot a tandem at Para Track Nationals. One of Steve's athletes, Kim Borowicz, was a visually impaired rider looking for a pilot. I was thrilled to be asked and immediately excited about it. I didn't really have any idea what this would be about but luckily I have some great resources with ABD in Mike Ebert and Mike Farrell. They encouraged me to do this and have been helping me train for it. I also put in a quick call to my teammate Stacy Appelwick who held the Masters National Pursuit title and she gave me an overview on what is involved in the Pursuit. When I first met Kim we hit it off and went a couple of times to train at Northbrook.

Since the velodrome in LA is a 250 meter track, we figured we'd better get up to Blaine, MN and ride the National Sports Center Velodrome to practice, since it's the only 250 meter track within driving distance. It's also my teammate Elena Dorr's home track and she's been a great resource about all things track. We did that last weekend it it was a great confidence builder. Riding at the new 166 meter Chicago Velo Campus track on the South Side has also been incredibly confidence building for me. Suddenly a 250 meter track doesn't seem so intimidating.

It's been really cool learning about all of this with Kim. This year Para Track Nationals will be combined with Elite Track Nationals so we will all be in LA this weekend. Kim and I will be competing in two time trials: The 3K Pursuit, and the 1K. Both standing starts. The Pursuit is on Friday and the Kilo is on Sunday.

We have only been working together for a short time, but we've come a long way and we are both really excited. I'm honored to participate in such a cool event and I'm really grateful to Kim for the opportunity.